Translation by googleRafa Nadal has congratulated the team for the Davis Cup españols, after achievement of the cup victory. The Mallorcan has highlighted the good work of Verdasco in the fourth and fifth set, which gave victory to Spain.

"It's amazing," said Sanchez Vicario. "It was an incredible match of ups and downs. In the end Fernando was the better player.

"It was very tough for us because Fernando was fighting with the crowd and not listening to us.

"But he has been playing at a higher level than Acasuso all season and is very strong physically. He wasn't even tired. We'll celebrate with a lot of wine."

Nadal, who was forced to pull out with a knee problem, added: "To win away in any tie is difficult. But at Argentina, in front of its public where they chose the surface, this is history. A moment like this is unforgettable."

The drums had died down, the stunned crowd shuffled out of the Estadio Islas Malvinas arena, but the contentious clash continued inside the Argentine locker room.

On one of the most boisterous and bizarre days in recent Davis Cup final history, the screaming didn't stop when Argentina and Spain left the court in Mar del Plata today.

Moments Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco roared back from a 1-5 hole in the third-set tiebreak to stun David Nalbandian and Agustin Calleri and shock the Argentine faithful into silent submission, 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(5), 6-3 to give Spain a 2-1 lead in this best-of-five match Davis Cup final, Argentina's top two stars reportedly went at it in the locker room.

Behind closed doors in the locker room afterward, Nalbandian and Juan Martin del Potro apparently got into an argument with Calleri stepping between the two men before tensions escalated, sources tell Tennis Week.Spain is now one win removed from capturing its first Davis Cup since 2004 when it defeated the USA on the red clay of Seville, while Argentine captain Alberto Mancini is left to try to stich together some unity in a squad that seems to be coming apart at the seams as they prepare for the final day of play.

There is growing speculation Argentina has become a team in turmoil.

Initially, local media reported Nalbandian and Calleri had a dispute in the locker room, however sources tell Tennis Week it was actually Nalbandian and del Potro who clashed immediately after the match and Calleri stepped in to try to keep the peace before the argument escalated into a potential physical confrontation.

Nalbandian left the arena without participating in the mandatory post-match press conference and faces a fine from the International Tennis Federation that could be as much as $10,0000.

The Argentine Tennis Federation would not confirm these reports; I am trying to confirm them. Mancini, who started the week proclaiming it was conceivable his squad could sweep every match, was left to publicly pick up the pieces, appearing at the post-match press conference seated next to Calleri as Nalbandian departed without a word.

"He (Nalbandian) left because he didnt feel well," said Mancini, trying to quell rumors his star singles players are at odds. "I think he didnt feel well physically, but more emotionally. Its not a muscular problem or anything. The team is for sure a bit wounded."

The rumor is Nalbandian was upset that del Potro went to Shanghai to play the Tennis Masters Cup last week rather than remain in Argentina to prepare for the final. After del Potro's loss to Lopez in yesterday's second singles match, sources say Nalbandian made it exceedingly clear to both del Potro and del Potro's father (reportedly using blunt language) that del Potro's decision to play Shanghai was costing the team. Stung by Nalbandian's words, del Potro is rumored to have criticized Nalbandian for his performance afer today's doubles loss with Calleri stepping between the two before the dispute escalated.

As we work to sort out the facts of the friction, clearly the team is at an emotional breaking point after enduring one of the most devastating defeats in the nation's Davis Cup history. The Nalbandian-del Potro dispute is reminiscent of the nation's 1981 team that featured a feuding Guillermo Vilas and Jose-Luis Clerc, who were barely on speaking terms at some points yet still reached the final, falling to a John McEnroe-led United States' squad.

Mancini was left to do damage control and emphasize the positive Argentina has won 13 consecutive home ties in a streak spanning a decade and beat Russia by virtue of Juan Martin del Potro's win over Igor Andreev in the decisive fifth match in the September semifinals.

Del won a decisive fifth match a little more than two months ago, can he make the fifth match a meaningful one tomorrow? And if the reports of in-fighting are true can both del Potro and Nalbandian put their differences aside and try to deliver in two of the most important matches in the nation's Davis Cup history.

"The boys are under a lot of pressure and it's not easy to deal with," Mancini said. "All the matches have been very even. I think we had a little bit of bad luck."

Argentina is playing for its first Davis Cup championship in history but now has no margin for error. The task is straightforward: win both of Sunday's singles history and the Argentines will taste victory from the Cup for the first time in history. Lose both matches and Davis Cup dreams will be shattered on the final Sunday for the second time in three years. In the 2006 final in Moscow, Calleri and Nalbandian lost the double s match to Russia's Dmitry Tursunov and Marat Safin, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4, as Argentina fell behind 2-1. Nalbandian leveled the tie defeating Nikolay Davydenko, but Safin scored a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) victory over Jose Acasuso in the decisive match to clinch the Cup for Russia.

Adding another degree of difficulty to Argentina's challenge is the fact that del Potro, who is scheduled to play Spain's David Ferrer in Sunday's first reverse singles match, is limping. Del Potro has been bothered by a cracked toe nail on his big toe for the better part of a month and strained his right leg lunging for a wide shot in the fourth set of his singles setback to Lopez on Friday.

The pressure now shifts firmly to Mancini's shoulders: does the captain start the ninth-ranked del Potro and hope that his 6-foot-5 frame can withstand the pain, pressure of the moment and a consistent foe in Ferrer, who is exceptionally quick and will undoubtedly try to extend the big man in lengthy baseline exchanges to wear him down? Or does he take his chance with the 48th-ranked Acasuso, who may well still be haunted by falling to Safin in the fifth match in Moscow two years ago?

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I love my life. I love where I live. And I am passionate about my passions. I love to dance. Necessary to live: music, piano, singing, writing, acting, painting.
I have been fighting for and supporting the arts all my adult life. Since 2004, I have been working with other activists to end the Darfur genocide.
I have traveled to Europe many times since my early twenties. Places I have been: many USA states including Hawaii, Montreal, Canada, Barbados, France, Spain, Luxembourg, England, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Greece and Germany - and have wonderful memories.
My last trip was in May - June 2013 to Spain.
I would like to travel to Europe and Kyoto, Japan.
I love the southwest where I have visited Hopi, Navajo, Zia and San Idlefonso potters.
Life is exciting and I intend to live it full-out to the end.
B.S. and M.M., both in music

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